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By Mike Freeman
CBSSports.com National Columnist
Aug. 3, 2011
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Joe Flacco is licking a vanilla and chocolate ice cream cone while simultaneously saying he can be a ruthless finisher.
Despite the awkward visual, I still believe him.
"Believe it," said Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs. "Anyone who doubts the toughness of Joe is a fool."
But back to that ice cream cone. After a steaming practice Tuesday afternoon, two ice cream trucks rolled onto the field, gangsta' style. The players transformed from tough guys to 7-year-olds. The trucks were swarmed and Ravens players walked away with various types of icy delights.
Flacco waited patiently for his teammates to get theirs, then he was soon holding two scoops overflowing on a smallish cone. The ice cream began melting instantly and he answered questions between slurps.
There are some in the NFL who believe it is actually Flacco who melts under pressure. They cite the Ravens' struggles against Pittsburgh as prima facie evidence that he lacks the ruthless closing skills of a Brady or Rodgers. It's a silly notion, but it's out there.
Yet others in the sport believe this is Flacco's year. "If I had to pick a quarterback I thought would go from good to great this season," said one NFC general manager, "it would be Flacco."
It's only a matter of time before Flacco takes the leap onto the NFL's elite platform of throwers. There's just too much talent for him not to.
"I know what some people say about me," Flacco explained. "I don't worry about it. They say what they say. I look at how I've played and I've played well. I look at this team and this team has played well. That's what you worry about -- your teammates and winning. That's all that matters."
If Flacco is to emerge as great he has to solve the conundrum of Pittsburgh. The Steelers have won all six games against the Ravens that Ben Roethlisberger has started since 2008. This has led to the inevitable smack attack from Steelers, with linebacker LaMarr Woodley saying the Ravens won't make it to the Super Bowl in his lifetime.
Responded Woodley when asked by the NFL Network if the Ravens would make the Super Bowl: "No, not at all because they have to go through one team -- that's the Pittsburgh Steelers in that AFC championship. So in order for them to get to the Super Bowl, they have to beat us, and we're not gonna let that happen once we get that close. So that's not gonna happen in this lifetime."
Wow.
Oh, by the way, the Steelers and Ravens play in Week 1.
"Who cares what he has to say," Flacco said. "The Steelers talk. That's fine. We've played well against Pittsburgh. Now all we have to do is close against them and we can do that."
A professional quarterback circumnavigating his way through the narrow channel that is solid to special is tricky and has swamped hundreds of men. Aaron Rodgers just did it but it took years of honing his talent and waiting behind Brett Favre.
Flacco has also bettered his skills. There are signs of this everywhere, particularly in his practice and game play. But most of all you can see the change in him.
Flacco is cordial, pleasant and almost scholarly in his approach, but I've watched him grow as a quarterback over the years and you can see the edge in his personality starting to grow. Flacco seems to be tiring of the questions of his passion or his ability to close on the Steelers. "Yeah, you could say that," he said, smiling, "but it's up to me and the team to change that."
At the end of the conversation, the ice cream is gone. Most of it melted (my bad, Joe). Flacco hasn't ... and this year, he won't.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/15389071/flacco-to-take-giant-leap-forward-in-2011-believe-it