The Baltimore Ravens signed Joe Flacco to a six-year, $120 million contract this past offseason. When you give a quarterback that type of money, it typically means you want the ball in his hands as much possible. That was not the case on Sunday, as the Ravens ran 12 plays from the wildcat formation in a win over the New York Jets.
Flacco, who lined up at wide receiver on one play and didn’t even bother running off the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped, said after the game that running the wildcat was “good and fun for a little bit, but that’s it.” On Tuesday, he made it clear that he never wants to see the formation again.
“I don’t care how we use it in the game — successful or not successful, after a big play, not after a big play. I don’t care where it’s used, I’m just not a huge fan of it,” Flacco told reporters, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. “I’m the quarterback. I want to be behind the line of scrimmage, I want to be taking the snaps. That’s really the only thing. I don’t necessarily take it personally either in terms of our offense trying to get better. I just think it makes us look like not an NFL team.”
Flacco added that the coaching staff knows how he feels about the wildcat and that he doesn’t expect the Ravens to use it much going forward.
“I don’t look at it as a slap in the face to me,” he said. “It is what it is. I want as many chances as I can get behind the line of scrimmage. I just don’t like that stuff in general.
“I’m not doing a single thing (when we run the wildcat). I’m not blocking, I’m not doing anything.”
All winners want the ball. You can understand why Flacco would dislike the wildcat, but did he have to go public with his disgust? His comments seem like they would have been better off made behind closed doors, rather than showing up John Harbaugh and the team’s coaches in public.
H/T Rotoworld
