The Ravens’ Joe Flacco and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan know their careers will always be compared to each other after being the only quarterbacks taken in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.
But right now, Flacco is just hoping his second career start goes much better than Ryan’s when the Ravens (1-0) host the Cleveland Browns (0-2) on Sunday afternoon at 4:15 at M&T Bank Stadium.
Flacco and Ryan became the first pair of rookie quarterbacks to win a season opener since Jim Plunkett and Archie Manning in 1971. But Ryan looked much more like a rookie this past Sunday when he went just 13-of-33 passing for 158 yards and two interceptions in a 24-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Flacco, however, has had more time to prepare for his second start after the damage created by Hurricane Ike caused the Ravens’ game at Houston to be postponed until No. 9.
“That’s one of the plusses,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said referring to the Ravens not playing a game last week. “You can catalog the plusses of the situation, and that’s what we’ve tried to do now. And that’s one — the fact that Joe gets an extra week of practice before his second game.”
After being rushed into action following Kyle Boller’s season-ending shoulder injury and Troy Smith’s sever case of tonsillitis, Flacco displayed the poise of a veteran by completing 15-of-29 passes for 129 yards and adding a 38-yard touchdown run in a 17-10 win against Cincinnati on Sept. 7.
“Any time you get more practice under your belt, you benefit from it,” Flacco said. “I think playing another game, I would have benefited from that. You can look at it a couple of different ways, and I’m going to look at it like it was a good thing and go into my second game as prepared as I can be.”
Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason believes Flacco playing his first two games in the friendly confines of Charm City allows him to prepare for playing in Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football next week.
The Steelers (2-0) have allowed just 13 points in two games after winning in Cleveland, 10-6, on Sunday night.
“[Flacco] was well-prepared to play last week, but I think this week he’s had an added week to really analyze their defense and see where the weak spots are — if there are any,” Mason said. “Now, he doesn’t have to have his second start on the road in front of a hostile environment. Now, he gets his second start back here at home with a more appreciative audience. I’m looking for Joe to do as well in this game as he did in his first game.”
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