Joe Flacco can calm the Lamar Jackson hype by winning
By Cody Rivera
Baltimore fans were excited when the Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson, but starting QB Joe Flacco can quiet the hype surrounding the youngster by winning.
Joe Flacco is somewhat on the hot seat in Baltimore. That became evident when the Ravens drafted Lamar Jackson with the final pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft.
As the 33-year-old Flacco continues his career as the starting quarterback for the Ravens, he’ll be spending every single week fighting for his job. As their longtime starter gets further up there in age, Baltimore saw the opportunity to secure Jackson as the franchise quarterback of the future, and they snagged it. If Flacco’s play slips at all, or the Ravens are consistently losing games, then the Lamar Jackson era in Baltimore might begin sooner than Flacco would like it to.
Of course, that’s all up to Flacco himself. He can quiet the hype surrounding Jackson by going out there every week and winning games. It’s been a few years since the Ravens have seemed like a legitimate threat in the AFC, but people often forget that Flacco has a Super Bowl ring – as well as a Super Bowl MVP – from back when Baltimore defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII.
Flacco has spent the summer fielding questions about Baltimore’s new rookie quarterback, but he’s confident that he’ll prove anybody who is doubting him wrong when he takes the field in 2018.
When asked if he thought there would be a point in the season where injuries would become “annoying,” Flacco responded with a simple answer.
“No I don’t, because I think we’re going to win and we’re not going to hear about it,” Flacco said, according to NFL.com.
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It’s as simple as that. If Flacco can go out there, win games, and get the Ravens back to the playoffs, the organization and its fans won’t be in any hurry to ease him out the back door in favor of the much younger Jackson.
But he’ll have to keep in mind that, with Jackson waiting right behind him, he will constantly be on the hot seat, and he will always have to be at the top of his game.