In a new article series, I will breakdown the performances from various Ravens who are set to return in 2018. Naturally, some will be longer than others. First up is quarterback Joe Flacco, who is seemingly on the hot seat due to the arrival of Lamar Jackson.

Flacco had an up and down year in 2017, in which he flashed at times. His best game of the season is certainly up for debate, but without a doubt, he was more consistent in the final seven games. There were other factors that contributed to his improved production, but his play certainly elevated as the season progressed. Due to the amount of snaps he played, and the drastic changes in his performances, I have decided to break this film piece into four parts. Each piece will cover four games of the season.

In this edition, I will review the first four games of the season, in which Baltimore went 2-2. Flacco completed 71 out of 118 passes, while throwing for 601 yards and four touchdowns. He did have six interceptions and a measly 5.09 yards per attempt.

As I watched every snap in this four game stretch, I noticed Flacco had 10 passes hit off of a receiver’s hands that fell incomplete. In addition, I tracked the amount of times he threw the ball short of the first-down marker on third-down. With Flacco at quarterback, the Ravens faced 45 third-downs in this stretch. Of those 45, they ran the ball 12 times. Out of the remaining 33 third-downs, Flacco threw the ball short of the sticks 13 times. Approximately 39% of the time he was throwing the ball shorter than the line to gain on third-down.

Another interesting aspect that was evident was his inconsistent footwork. His footwork, as seen in the clips below, was not only ever-changing, but sloppy at times. He would throw off his back foot, fail to get his feet set and not drive off of his back foot.

Another common occurrence was his one read and check-down mentality. Flacco would seemingly stare down one receiver, and if he wasn’t open, he would check it down immediately. He missed several receivers who were open down the field as he opted for the shorter, safer completion. His pocket presence, especially early in the season, was non-existent. He was quick to avoid pressure, and sometimes made horrible decisions with the football. He also held the ball too long at times. It appeared as though Flacco was not comfortable running the offense, which shouldn’t be the case with a veteran quarterback who was once a Super Bowl MVP.

It was not all bad for Flacco nor was it all his fault. Some of the blame must be put on the receivers and tight ends. Not to mention offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg deserves a portion of the blame as well. Some of the play concepts Baltimore ran were more than questionable considering the defensive schemes they faced.

Week 1

Ravens vs. Bengals

Although Baltimore picked up the first down, this play had the potential to be much more. This was a busted coverage for Cincinnati as William Jackson stayed with Breshad Perriman, who had a step on him, despite having safety help. The safety appeared to be drawn towards Mike Wallace, who broke free at the last second. With the linebacker dropping back too far, Flacco, if he had protection, could have hit Perriman or Wallace within the next second. Ronnie Stanley was unable to contain his assignment, which forced Flacco to step up and hit Danny Woodhead on the check-down.

The Bengals are running Cover 6 and Woodhead broke free for another first-down. Flacco’s footwork was close to perfect on this play. He took a quick drop, planted his back foot and drove the ball to Woodhead. This was an accurate strike, and the correct read.

This was one of the more frustrating plays of this game even though Perriman picked up five yards on first-down. It was 1st-and-20, and the Bengals were running what appears to be Cover 6. The play concept was extremely conservative and questionable to attack this defense. Why wouldn’t Mornhinweg call a play that attacks the sidelines, or did a receiver run the wrong route?

In the red zone, the Bengals were running Cover 6 with the safety cheating towards Perriman’s side. Not only was he covered, but the pass was inaccurate and had a slim chance of being completed. Not to mention Flacco never looked away from Perriman, which was a clear indication where he wanted to throw the football.

On third-down, Flacco had no chance to deliver an accurate pass. Immediately following the snap, Cincinnati’s six-man rush broke through the line. His footwork was horrendous on this play as he threw it off of his back foot. He was clearly trying to avoid a sack by getting rid of the ball as fast as possible.

Flacco’s footwork was shaky on this play as he never properly set his feet, which could be a reason why the pass was horribly under thrown. Flacco was never the most accurate passer in his career, but this season it was a rather common occurrence.

The first four weeks of the season for Flacco were seemingly a disaster. When the wide receivers were able to get open, the protection did not hold up, or vice versa. Not to mention, he struggled with accuracy as well. It was hard for the offense to get on track, and this play is a microcosm of this span. None of the receivers were able to create separation until it was too late. Flacco held onto the ball instead of checking it down, and he was sacked.

Flacco’s footwork improved on this play as he was able to stand in the pocket and deliver a strike to Mike Wallace. Despite the pocket almost collapsing, Flacco was able to get the ball out in time. Perriman was open, but given the pressure, Flacco never looked his way.

Although the Bengals sent seven rushers, the protection held up long enough for Flacco to quickly get the ball out to Jeremy Maclin on a slant route. Maclin had enough separation from the ‘pick’ to score a touchdown.

Perriman was the only receiver open, and seemingly the only receiver Flacco was looking at on this play. The pass was thrown behind him, which allowed the defensive back to recover. Although this was a drop by Perriman, Flacco’s footwork was atrocious on this play, which led to the poorly thrown football.

The pressure didn’t get to Flacco, yet he panicked and threw a pass behind Terrance West. This led to an interception. Flacco had room to step to the right and buy more time.

Week 2

Browns vs. Ravens

In single coverage, Flacco was able to lead his receiver and throw a perfect strike. His footwork was perfect, and the placement of the football was even better. It was in a spot where only his receiver could reach it.

The Browns sent a late blitzer, who had a clear path to Flacco. However, he was able to get the ball out in time, which should have led to an easy completion, but Perriman dropped the football. The pass was thrown a bit high, but still should have been caught.

Despite having single coverage on the outside, Flacco wasn’t looking downfield long as the blitzers were right in his face. It was a stunt that confused James Hurst, and Flacco never had a legitimate chance to throw the football downfield.

Flacco’s first read was likely Benjamin Watson, but he had a deeper receiver who was seemingly uncovered. Baltimore picked up the first-down, but Nick Boyle had a chance to score a touchdown if Flacco could have delivered him an accurate pass.

Flacco’s solid footwork coupled with solid protection should have produced great results. However, the pass was overthrown, which resulted in an easy interception. It was a questionable decision to throw deep considering his receiver wasn’t even open. Flacco could have scrambled for at least seven yards, if not more on this play.

Flacco rolled outside against Cover 1 defense, and found an open Watson. Although the pass was overthrown, he was still able to make the catch. It was a tough throw to make on the run, but with some space in front of him, Flacco could have made a better pass. Nevertheless, the pass was completed and Baltimore picked up the first-down. Hard to argue with the end result of this play.

On a bootleg, Flacco rolled to his right, which showcased tremendous patience to let the play develop, and found Javorius Allen for a touchdown. Flacco demonstrated that he has the ability to be accurate on the move.

The timing between Flacco and his receivers was completely off for the first four games. He threw this pass too late, which led to the defensive back being able to breakup the pass. It was a poor display as this play could have picked up the first-down. Not to mention Flacco had plenty of time to get rid of the football.

It was another stunt that fooled Baltimore’s offensive line as Flacco had no chance on this play. Once he received the snap, he was running out of the pocket. Part of his poor play in this span was due to the inconsistent pass-protection.

The Browns were in man coverage, and Flacco made the perfect throw. Not only did he get the ball out quickly, but the placement of the pass was perfect.

Flacco didn’t even try to look off any of the defenders as he stared directly at Wallace the entire time. There was no shoulder or head movement that indicated he was going to throw the ball anywhere else. This provided the defender with all the clues he needed to jump the route, and Baltimore is lucky he only broke the pass up.

Flacco had receivers open, but he didn’t have time to throw the football. He was able to avoid the sack and throw the ball away. Again, poor pass-protection was a continuing theme of these four weeks.

Week 3

Ravens vs. Jaguars

The Ravens receivers were completely blanketed, while Perriman doesn’t even run a route until the end of the play. Flacco had no time to throw the ball and was quickly sacked. Although Jensen makes a great play to stop one rusher from hitting Flacco from behind.

West was seemingly the only option in this play, however, Flacco delivers an inaccurate pass that falls incomplete. His footwork was not the issue on this play, it just appeared he did not square up to his target properly. West still could have made the catch, but he likely would not have picked up the first-down.

With solid protection, Flacco delivered another incomplete pass. This time it was to Maclin, who was unable to haul it in, despite having both hands on the football. Maclin was wide open and should have made the catch.

With no receivers open and the pocket collapsing almost instantly, Flacco had no options. This entire game was not only a poor showing from Flacco, but a poor showing from the entire offensive side of the ball. They were completely outmatched.

This was one of the the cleanest pockets Flacco had all game, yet he fails to reward his offensive line. His pass was thrown too far to the inside as Wallace could not complete the catch. This was his worst game of this four game span.

Another clean pocket for Flacco, and he throws a 50-50 ball to his receiver. The placement of the ball is questionable, but Maclin manages to get both hands on the football. He was unable to complete the catch as the ball is ripped out and ends up being intercepted by the Jaguars.

Flacco had time to throw, it went through one read and checked it down. It appears as though Michael Campanaro was open, but Flacco opted not to go in that direction.

Jalen Ramsey played this route perfectly as he baited Flacco into a throw to Mike Wallace. Flacco threw an inaccurate pass that was intercepted by Ramsey. Another questionable decision by Flacco.

Week 4

Steelers vs. Ravens

Pittsburgh did not bite on the play-action, and Flacco had a defender right in his face immediately following the fake. He was able to use his length to quickly find Watson who picked up a nice gain on the play. This is seemingly a staple of Mornhinweg’s playbook.

The Steelers only sent three, and Flacco had all day to deliver a pass. Had Flacco been more patient, he had several receivers about to uncover, including single coverage on the far side.

With great protection, Flacco delivered a dart down the sidelines. It was a tad bit overthrown, which led to the incompletion. Early in his career, Flacco was accurate with his deep ball, but as of late, that has been far from the case.

This play was a disaster from the beginning. It was a low snap, the pocket collapsed almost instantly and the receivers failed to create separation. The Steelers are running Cover 1 and none of Baltimore’s receivers could help Flacco.

This play must of been a miscommunication as two receivers are running side by side down the field. It looks like some form of a four verticals play concept, but it was not executed properly, and Pittsburgh defended it well.

If the pass protection held up, Baltimore would have easily scored a touchdown. Flacco had plenty of time to deliver the ball to the open receiver, but it appears he didn’t see him before it was too late. The Steelers ran a Cover 3 zone that they disguised well.

This was certainly a risky pass from Flacco, but he was able to thread the needle between two defenders to hit Mike Wallace for the touchdown. His footwork on this play was tremendous.

After watching both views, it is clear Flacco took too long to survey the field. He had Watson open initially, but by the time he saw him open, it was too late. This was an unnecessary sack, the Ravens could have picked up another first-down.

Drops constantly plagued Flacco during this stretch. His receivers failed to consistently catch the football. This time Alex Collins dropped the check-down pass. With no one open down the field, this appeared to be the right read. Pittsburgh was in zone coverage, and again, Baltimore failed to effectively attack it.

Continuing with the theme of these four weeks, Flacco waited too long to deliver Watson a pass, who was open almost immediately. Not to mention the pass was thrown in a horrible location.

This is a play that I have dissected on numerous occasions. Baltimore attempted to run similar concepts after it worked earlier in the game. However, Pittsburgh adjusted accordingly, and the Ravens seemingly failed to realized it. This was a horrible play-call, and an even worse decision by Flacco.

This was a bad overthrow by Flacco, and another questionable decision. Boyle was open underneath for a short gain, but Flacco overthrew his target, who was double covered.

This was one of the most debated plays of the 2017 season. Some blame Flacco, others blame Perriman. Both are at fault. If Flacco delivered a more accurate pass, Perriman would have walked in for a touchdown. The pass was thrown high, and it forced Perriman to switch his angle to make a tough adjustment to the ball. Perriman failed to come down with it, and Baltimore settled for a field goal on this drive.

Final take:

It was certainly a rough start to the 2017 season for quarterback Joe Flacco. It is unknown how much his lingering back injury affected his play, but he was clearly subpar. Flacco’s footwork was a nightmare at times, while his accuracy was lacking. He also consistently made questionable decisions with the football. Fortunately, his play improved as the season progressed. Stay tuned for the next edition of this four-part series about Joe Flacco.

**Leave a comment on which player you would like to see next following Joe Flacco**